Furniture skid



R. V. MARTIN FURNITURE SKID Jan. 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1961 R. V. MARTIN FURNITURE SKID Jan. 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 15, 1961 INVENTOR R055 /%7rfi 7 I ATTORNEY 3,073,438 Patented Jan. 15, 1963 3,073,438 FURNITURE SKID Ross V. Martin, Waynesboro, Va.. assignor to Basic- Witz Furniture Industries, Inc., Waynesboro, Va. Filed Mar. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 95,835 '9 Claims. (Cl. 206-46) This invention relates tonew and useful improvements in devices for protecting articles of furniture from damage during shipment, and the principal ob ect of the invention is to provide What may be referred to as a skid, which may be attached to the underside of an article of furniture at the factory and permitted to remain attached thereto during shipping and/or storage until such time as the article of furniture is delivered to a purchaser, whereupon the skid, having served its purpose as a facility for shifting or sliding the article of furniture from place to place and protecting it from damage during such movement, may be quickly and easily detached.

In particular, the invention concerns itself with the provision of a skid which is especially adapted for use in conjunction with articles of furniture having legs, as for example, cabinets, bookcases, chests of drawers, dressers, and the like, an important feature of the invention residing in the provision of means whereby the article of furniture is supported by the skid so that-its legs are spaced upwardly from the ground or floor and from the skid itself, whereby the weight of the article of furniture does not rest on the legs and the legs are prevented from sliding or scraping along the ground or floor when the article of furniture is moved.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the provision of means for firmly securing the skid to the article of furniture, yet facilitating a quick and easy detachment thereof when the skid has served its purpose.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, efficient and dependable operation. and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the foregoing objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a furniture skid in accordance with the invention, the means for securing the same to an article of furniture not being shown;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view showing by dotted lines an article of furniture resting on the skid, the fastening means again not being shown;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of an article of furniture lying on its side or back, with the skid secured to the underside thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail on an enlarged scale, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4-4 in FIGURE 3, the skid being shown resting on the floor; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, similar to that shown in FIGURE 3, but illustrating a slightly modified arrangement of the invention. 7

" Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail,

particularly to FIGURES 1-4 inclusive, the protective skid in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the numeral 10 and is intended to be used in conjunction with an article of furniture 11, such as for example, a cabinet, dresser, chest of drawers, bookcase, or the like. As such, the article of furniture 11 is provided with a set of legs 12 and also has a pair of rails or transverse frame members 13 rigidly secured to its underside or bottom 14 adjacent the legs, it being understood that the rails 13, although coacting with the skid 11B, are permanently attached to the article of furniture and so remain even when the skid is removed.

The skid 10 comprises a rectangular base designated generally by the numeral 15, which includes a pair of Iongitudinal members 16 and a pair of cross members 17 secured by suitable nails or the like 18 to upper surfaces of the end portions of the members 16, as will be apparent. A diagonal brace 19 is provided to reinforce the frame-like base, as shown, and a pair of upstanding spacing members or blocks 20 are mounted on the cross members 17 by suitable nails or screws.

The base 15 is of such size that its marginal edges are flush with or project outwardly somewhat beyond the marginal edgesof the article of furniture 11 and when the device is placed in use, the skid 10 is positioned under the artic e of furniture as shown in FIGURE 2, with the upstanding spacing members 20 supportably engaging the rails 13. The upstanding members 20 are of such height that they sustain the lower ends of the legs 12 in upwardly spaced relation from the ground or floor 21 as Well as from the cross members 17 of the skid, whereby with the skid in place, the legs 12 are not called upon to support the weight of the furniture nor are they subjected to sliding or scraping along the ground or floor when the article of furniture is moved. As shown, the spacing members 20 are of greater length than the length of the legs 12 below the transverse frame member 13, thus insuring the spacing of the bottom of the legs 12 above the cross members 17 of the skid 10, which cross members 17 in the assembled package are parallel to the transverse frame members 13 of the article of furniture Means are also provided for removably securing the skid It) to the article of furniture 11, such means preferably comprising pairs of crossed, flexible straps 22 of metal, or the like, which are anchored at one end 23 thereof to the underside of the longitudinal members 16 of the base 15, as for example, by pointed pins 24 of the gliders 25 which also serve to facilitate rolling or sliding of the skid with'the furniture thereon along the ground or floor 21. Intermediate portions of the straps 22 embracingly engage the members 16 at the points 26 and the members 17 at the points 27, whereupon the straps proceed to their point of crossing 28 and then'embracmgly engage the spacing members 20 at the points 30. The other end portions of the straps are removably secured to the rails 13 by suitable fasteners such as the staples 31. Stop members comprising downwardly proectmgnails or keeper pins 32 are provided on the undersidcs of the rails 13 adjacent the inner surfaces of the members 29 to prevent the article of furniture from shifting longitudinally of the skid and it will be apparent from the foregoing that when the skid 10 is secured to the underside of the article of furniture .as above described, it is firmly held in place. However, when the skid has served its purpose, it may be quickly and easily,

staples 31, and thereby detaching the straps 22 from the rails 13, the staples 31 being the sole connection between the skid and the article of furniture.

In the slightly modified embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 5 the straps 22a are arranged and fastened to the rails 13 as already described and also embracingly engage the members and 17 at the points and 27, respectively. However, the straps 22a are anchored at their ends 23a to the cross members 17 rather than to the longitudinal members 16, but the skid elements or gliders 25 are provided at the underside of the members 16 to facilitate rolling or sliding of the skid along the floor.

As will be apparent, the article of furniture 11 may be shipped solely in association with the skid 10, or if desired, it may be enclosed in a suitable box or crate with an open bottom, fastened at its bottom edges to the marginal edges of the skid.

While in the foregoing there have been described and shown the preferred embodiments of the invention, var ious modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging the underside of the article of furniture, said upstanding members being of a sufficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, and elongated flexible means removably securing said base to said article of furniture, said elongated means being detachably connected at one end to said article of furniture and at the other end to said base.

2. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging the underside of the article of furniture, said upstanding members being of a sufficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, and means removably securing said base to said article of furniture, said means including a plurality of flexible straps secured to said base and to the underside of said article of furniture.

3. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of transverse rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding mern ers provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sutficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, elongated flexible means removably securing said base to said rails and connected at its ends to said base and said rails, and skid elements provided at the underside of said base.

4. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sufficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, means removably securing said base to said rails, and skid elements provided at the underside of said base, said means including pairs of crossed flexible straps secured at one end thereof to said base and at their other end to said rails, intermediate portions of said straps embracing said upstanding members.

5. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sufiicient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, flexible elongated means removably securing said base to said rails, said base comprising a pair of longitudinal members and a pair of cross members secured to the ends of said longitudinal members, said upstanding members being mounted on said cross members, and said flexible means being detachably connected at one end thereof to the rails of said article of furniture and at the other end thereof to said cross members of the skid.

6. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sufficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, means removably securing said base to said rails, and skid elements provided at the underside of said base, and keeper pins projecting downwardly from said rails adjacent said upstanding members.

7. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sufiicient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, means removably securing said base to said rails, and skid elements provided at the underside of said base, said base comprising a pair of longitudinal members and a pair of cross members secured to the ends of said longitudinal members, said upstanding members being mounted on said cross members and said means including pairs of crossed flexible straps secured at one end thereof to said cross members and at their other end to said rails, intermediate portions of said straps embracing said cross members and said upstanding members.

8. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sufficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, means removably securing said base to said rails, and skid elements provided at the underside of said base, said base comprising a pair of longitudinal members and a pair of cross members secured to the ends of said longitudinal members, said upstanding members being mounted on said cross members and said means including pairs of crossed flexible straps secured at one end thereof to said longitudinal members and at their other end to said rails, intermediate portions of said strips embracing said longitudinal members and said cross members and said up standing members.

9. In combination with an article of furniture having a set of legs and provided at the underside thereof with a set of rails disposed adjacent the upper ends of said legs, a shipping skid comprising a base underlying said article of furniture, upstanding members provided on said base and supportably engaging said rails, said upstanding members being of a sufficient height to sustain the lower ends of said legs in upwardly spaced relation from said base, means removably securing said base to said rails, and skid elements provided at the underside of said base, said straps being secured to said longitudinal members by said skid elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent underside of said longitudinal members of said base, said 10 2,895,695

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hernmick Nov. 24, 1908 Hull Apr. 27, 1943 Wohlers Oct. 12, 1943 Reichelt Oct. 16, 1956 Solomon July 21, 1959 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE HAVING A SET OF LEGS, A SHIPPING SKID COMPRISING A BASE UNDERLYING SAID ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, UPSTANDING MEMBERS PROVIDED ON SAID BASE AND SUPPORTABLY ENGAGING THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, SAID UPSTANDING MEMBERS BEING OF A SUFFICIENT HEIGHT TO SUSTAIN THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID LEGS IN UPWARDLY SPACED RELATION FROM SAID BASE, AND ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MEANS REMOVABLY SECURING SAID BASE TO SAID ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, SAID ELONGATED MEANS BEING DETACHABLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID ARTICLE OF FURNITURE AND AT THE OTHER END TO SAID BASE. 